Council Overturns Commission Vote : Sale of Lloyd Wright Studio OKd

With none of the debate that marked the last time they dealt with the issue, West Hollywood’s City Council on Tuesday approved the sale of the landmark home and architecture studio of the late Lloyd Wright to a financial planning firm.

By a 4-1 vote, the council overturned a Planning Commission recommendation that would have prevented Eric Lloyd Wright, the son of Lloyd Wright and grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, from selling the property to financial planners Gail Gordon Kamer and Peggi Hager.

Councilwoman Abbe Land cast the dissenting vote.

The council’s approval was needed as part of restrictions placed on use of the property last year. At that time, the council granted the owner’s request to extend a conditional-use permit to allow part of the building to be used for commercial purposes.

The Planning Commission recommended against the proposed sale in December after concluding that the building’s use by a financial planning firm would not be appropriate for the property.

While owned by Eric Lloyd Wright since his father’s death in 1978, the building at 858 N. Doheny Drive has long been considered something of a public trust by city officials.

Architect’s Home, Studio

From the time he built the textile block structure in 1928 to the time of his death, Lloyd Wright--whose work includes the original Hollywood Bowl Shell--lived upstairs and used the downstairs as a studio, which accounts for the building’s being best known as the Lloyd Wright Studio. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

For the last seven years, a small real estate firm specializing in historic and architectural properties has occupied the old studio, with a partner in the firm living upstairs.

Hager said she and her partner plan to purchase the property within three months. She declined to disclose the sales price, saying it is being negotiated.

“The building is in need of considerable restoration. We want to restore it and treat it as the landmark that it is,” she said. The downstairs will be used as an office, and Hager will occupy the upstairs as living quarters, she said.

Last April, with Land casting a dissenting vote, the council sided with the owner and against angry neighbors in allowing the downstairs to continue to be used for commercial purposes, despite its not conforming with residential zoning requirements.

Architectural Integrity

In granting a 99-year extension to the nonconforming use of the downstairs, the council accepted Eric Lloyd Wright’s argument that without the extension, only buyers interested in converting the building entirely to residential use would be interested in purchasing the property, something he said would destroy its architectural integrity.

A dozen residents, angered by what they described as a commercial intrusion into their neighborhood, opposed the extension, citing increased traffic congestion and parking problems near the building.

But on Tuesday, only one resident spoke against the council’s approval of the sale.

Jeanne Dobrin expressed concern that the city would not be able to enforce several additional conditions it attached to the prospective new owners’ use of the property.

As part of its decision last year, the council required Wright to obtain a historic facade easement on the property prior to ever selling it to ensure its future preservation.

On Tuesday, the council also added a restriction that any restoration to the interior courtyard area, which officials said might not fall under the previous easement, be done in compliance with certain federal standards.